interview

Carl Gundel: When I first started working on Liberty BASIC I didn't even intend to market it. So in that sense it has far outstripped my expectations. The community that has grown up around it has also been a pleasant surprise.

LBN: Can you summarize the philosophy that has guided you in the development of Liberty Basic over the years?

CG: Too many programming languages are hard to use, and the hobbyist culture is almost extinct, at least if you compare it to the way it dominated computers 20 years ago. Computer literacy needs to be elevated above how to start the computer, run a game or word processor and use a web browser. Learning to program empowers you in the same way as knowing how to work on your own car. It makes you a better driver, and helps protect you from being scammed or stranded. I dare say programming even teaches a valuable way to think and solve problems. It makes you smarter in some ways.

LBN: What are a couple of the high points over the last twelve years?

CG: I was impressed when people started using Liberty BASIC in books. This really stunned me because I made no effort to encourage this. It shows that Liberty BASIC hits a sweet spot as the every user's language.

LBN: What did you start out to do way back then, and has your vision for Liberty Basic changed or stayed mostly on course?

CG: I guess it's hard to remember exactly what I was thinking in the beginning, but I think I'm still shooting for the same thing. People need something small and easy to use. Liberty BASIC has been grown slowly and deliberately because I don't want to abandon that niche.

LBN: Now you are working on Liberty Basic version 5. This version is going to be supported across several platforms. I am sure this presents some problems - can you tell us about the project, the struggles and how things are looking?

CG: We are currently working on the Mac port of LB5. We have been held up a little bit by our tools vendor and are hoping to have something for people to play with soon. The cross platform aspect is easy because the programming language we use supports this. Most features will be easily portable between Windows, the Mac, and Linux. Language features for making operating system calls and interfacing with external libraries will be the hard part.

LBN: Liberty Basic is being discovered by more and more people all the time. I know that it has been a struggle to get the word out over the years. How do you feel about the current growth, and can it be sustained?

CG: Growth has been very strong. Liberty BASIC has grown mostly on its own merits. I am always trying to learn more about marketing, and I am confident that growth will continue to be there.

LBN: You have indicated that you have taken on a partner in your development efforts on Liberty Basic 5. How is it different working with someone else on what has been a solo effort?

CG: I love working with Scott McLaughlin. He is a very smart man, and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. When we work together there is a very strong synergy, and we do very good work.

LBN: You have hinted at a language beyond Liberty Basic. Something revolutionary and new in its approach. Is this concept coming together, and do you see this as a project to follow LB5, or is this a parallel track?

CG: Yes, I am working on a new version of BASIC that I hope will be just as easy to learn, but much more powerful. This language is what Scott and I spend a good amount of our time on together. The core language is just beginning to come together. Most of the energy spend so far has been on concept and design, but now there is also some code.

LBN: Will this new language occupy the same relative niche that Liberty Basic does today, and do you think you will take a different approach to marketing this new language?

CG: Our new BASIC language is meant to approachable, like Liberty BASIC, but there will be much more profound power to the language. Since we want to produce the best, cleanest language we can, we will not try to maintain backwards compatibility with LB. The IDE will be something really fresh and cool, but I don't want to reveal what we're doing until we have something working. Easy, and powerful. Powerful in part because it's easy. Easy in part because it's powerful. I'm not talking necessarily about power as most language vendors mean power. Usually in programming languages this means compact distribution and blazing execution speed. The kind of power I'm shooting for is in the expressiveness of the language and in an extensible environment. That's pretty ambitious for a language called BASIC, eh?

LBN: I am sure you are looking forward to a time when Liberty Basic will reach a stable platform and you can concentrate on other projects. Do you think LB5 will bring the product to this point? Do you see yourself coming back to Liberty Basic in the future to continue the development cycles?

CG: LB5 will be the first cross platform Liberty BASIC. I don't think it will be the last. Computing will change a lot in the next few years, and I think Liberty BASIC will evolve along with it. Ultimately, we may use the technology of the new BASIC to power future versions of Liberty BASIC.

LBN: Thanks Carl for your time. Are there any final remarks you would like to make to the Liberty Basic community?

CG: Sure. THANKS for being the great people and community you are. Please spread the word about Liberty BASIC. We look forward to years of exciting new ideas and also to collaborating with all of you. Thanks Brad for this opportunity.